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P:R Redesign: Luca Pizzari’s Banshee, Siryn & Black Tom!

Note: Superheroing is a family business, and artist Luca Pizzari has reunited one of comics most under-rated and disfunctional families in his revamp of the mutant family the Cassidys. With the X-Man Banshee leading the way, his black sheep brother Black Tom and hisdaughter Siryn are given new duds that brings their Irish roots back to the forefront. – Chris A.

Luca’s thoughts on the group:

In the current Marvel Universe, Sean Cassidy is dead. Let’s imagine that for some mysterious reason, as often in comics these days, now he’s better ;)
Since he came back from the dead, though, he hasn’t quite been the same, avoiding the X-community and retiring back to his native Ireland, where he owns an old family castle. Here his cousin Black Tom approaches him asking his assistance in a quest that involves their family history and his estranged daughter Siryn gets involved too, flying all the way from the US… basically the idea is to turn Banshee into the Marvel Comics Indiana Jones, living all sorts of adventures that delve into the supernatural/folkloristic while giving him the “Scooby-Doo” treatment: as he fights trolls, fairies or evil druids, these are revealed to be actually mutants or other supervillains.

The first thing to consider when designing his costume was for me that Banshee doesn’t really fly, but glides thanks to his sonic scream. For this reason his costume is basically a functional paragliding suit with ornaments and lateral protective platings that carry the medieval lore of my concept. The color scheme is basically his classic one, that to me always screamed (pun completely intended) “Ireland” like nothing else.

Since Theresa even assumed her father’s namesake while he was presumed dead, it made sense to give them more or less matching outfits, with subtle changes in the pattern of the plating and color schemes. She basically wears a two-piece version of Banshee’s suit, with the hooded cape and boots added to reinforce the fantasy/folklore concept. I also tried to make her look more Irish, so yeah, she’s curly and freckled now ;)

If Banshee is the King Arthur of my story, his cousin is our Merlin. His powers always had an Earth-based nature that to me linked him perfectly to Celtic spirituality, and that is exactly what I tried to reflect in his costume: part Druid, part hermit, part hobo, since his new-found mysticism leaves little or no interest in his wardrobe. The idea is that he probably once had a superhero outfit but stopped caring and now wears a monk-like robe plus whatever he can find over it. He always carries around an irish shillelagh, a fighting stick, and wears on his chest the Celtic rune for the Earth.

Very nice designs, I like them. One thing I noticed is that while Theresa also uses her scream to enable flight, her outfit does not seem to reflect that ability. That’s an interesting point to add backstory to.

The glider function of Banshee’s suit would need to extend all the way to his ankles to hold the air properly. You might want to look into glider suits to tweak the design. Pulling them taut is what allows the air to lift them. Other than that, I can’t find anything wrong with this suit

Why is Theresa’s outfit a belly exposing one? It’s a needless bit of sexualization that this outfit doesn’t need. I love where the pants end. The freckles feel too much like you’re falling into stereotypes. The red n’ curly hair is fine. This was a good touch. That cape is a great callback to traditional Celtic clothing and a good channel for her powers, though like him you need to find more ways to pull it taut for gliding. Cover her belly and lose the freckles and you’ll have a fantastic design. We can save the freckles for another character, but let’s distill the “I’M IRISH, CAN YOU TELL?!” a bit further.

I can find very little wrong with Black Tom… in fact I love the look, though once more I think we new to keep him from falling too far into the stereotype trap that many ethnic superheroes fall into. How are you going to reconcile this against his known history? Did he find his new viewpoint of celtic mystisim in prison? Why has he forgiven his cousin? Considering his ability to channel energy attacks through wood, how much has that changed with his new discipline. You’ve got a great overarching thing going there, but I would love to hear what you’ve got going on with the finer details and how they fit with what’s come before.

I like both of the men’s costumes quite a bit. I think Banshee’s would be perfect if not for the scalloped wings. I don’t think that Banshee’s facial hair nor Tom’s dishevelment fit the characters, though. Or at least not the (possibly archaic) versions I’m familiar with. They always truck me as carefree young rakes, and these looks age them more than I would prefer.

I’ve never cared for Siryn, mainly due to her copycat power set. This look would be nice if not for the exposed midriff, though. Still, I think it would be fairly boring to have two characters with identical powers, even if it wasn’t a traditional “superhero battles” book.

I really like this concept. Marvel doesn’t really explore the supernatural side of their universe, which is kind of a shame, and Banshee never really worked quite well as an X-man anyway.

Banshee’s costume seems a little too Supermanish for a supernatural adventurer/detective. I feel like he’d be better off with more street clothes, with a trenchcoat or something that could kind of hooks that could attach to his boots to make the gliders.

I like what you’ve done with Black Tom. He’s another character that never really worked as a villain. The only reason he ever really had to commit crimes was when he wanted to fix his condition, which got taken care of anyway. This could be a good redemption story, and his power set makes nice for mystical enhancement.

I like Tom’s look especially the fur on the trench coat (the 90′s are cool again) and I like that siren’s hood nods to their relationship. Combined with her under costume she looks like she could be influenced by both of the older Cassidys,

Nice designs on Banshee and Siryn, although I echo Edwin’s observation about Siryn’s belly window.. Not so sure about hobo-Black Tom (but then, I never really got the character). I also like the little backstory you constructed. Banshee was always one og my favorite X-Men in the early days and I never felt he got as much play as he deserved.

On a technical note, your characterization of Banshee’s powers is off the mark. His sonic scream does allow him to fly (just as Siryn’s does). He’s often been shown using it to fly while in street clothes. The purpose of the glider panels in his costume is to allow him to glide for short distances in order to rest his voice/powers or talk, but his sonic scream does fully power his flight.

I’ve gotta agree with Edwin on Banshee’s need for a glider suit and Siryn’s overuse of the freckles and exposed belly. Aside from those nitpicks, this is an outstanding redesign of these characters. I would love to see how they play out in the actual MU.

First of all, thank you for the really constructive feedback, and thanx to P:R too for deeming my thingie worthy of publication ;)
@Edwin: I actually researched paragliding suits but purposely tried to avoid the “wings attached all over the sides” look for mainly 2 reasons: it was too reminiscent of the old, classic outfit (which I kinda hated) and, once not operational ie on the ground, would be a pain to render and wouldnt look good. Trust me, I tried ;)
About Terry’s 2-piece, I hate over-sexualization in my comics as much as the next guy, but to me thats mainly what the artist suggests with the pose or the general “allure” of the character. Maybe if I gave her a huge cleavage I would understand where these comments come from, but I dont think the amount and location of exposed skin can b considered too overtly sexual… I mainly divided the suit in two for design/balance reasons, that is all ;)
@Keaton: I get what you mean about “formal” clothes, and my idea was that the outfit functioned like a sports tracksuit you can wear over a simple tee and jeans. And I’m really trying to avoid ’90s comic fashion tragedies, so trenchcoats and street clothes for the sake of it are a big NO-NO in my book, sorry ;))))
To everyone else who commented, THANK YOU so much, hope you will be as supporting on my next entry ;)

Not only would I read this comic, I’d buy the action figures as well! I think the costumes are AWESOME redesigns, and frankly–it’s a comic, so we need to keep the suspension of disbelief here. Banshee would look kinda funny running around with full body glider wings permanently attached to his arms and ankles. Also on the midriff bit on Siryn, it’s just basic style. I don’t know where some of naysayers here are from, or how old they are, but being a young 20-something, I can tell you that a young traveling girl in good shape would probably be more likely to wear something to that affect. Great job!

LuCa.: @Edwin: I actually researched paragliding suits but purposely tried to avoid the “wings attached all over the sides” look for mainly 2 reasons: it was too reminiscent of the old, classic outfit (which I kinda hated) and, once not operational ie on the ground, would be a pain to render and wouldnt look good. Trust me, I tried ;)About Terry’s 2-piece, I hate over-sexualization in my comics as much as the next guy, but to me thats mainly what the artist suggests with the pose or the general “allure” of the character. Maybe if I gave her a huge cleavage I would understand where these comments come from, but I dont think the amount and location of exposed skin can b considered too overtly sexual… I mainly divided the suit in two for design/balance reasons, that is all

Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from with it being rough to render and cumbersome on land. Then again, with the awesome nature of comics, maybe they could be retractable.

As to the belly window. I didn’t say it was over sexual, it’s just not necessary in this case. It doesn’t really add anything to the design when she’s wicked hot even with the covered belly. It’s not a bad suit, and that’s really my only nitpick with the suit itself, that she’s less covered when the guys are layered in.

I’m a late 20-something from New York, where Style is born and I’ve met my fair share of women. Women CAN wear somewhat smallish outfits, especially in the summer. However, when being active, they tend to like to be covered, especially when they are doing some form of martial arts. My wife and sisters are VERY fit (damn skinny people) and they get cold easily. In fact, that’s a common complaint of all women, that they get cold easily. I don’t think asking him to cover the belly with more tights is that huge a sin.

Am I wrong for LOVING Siryn’s figure? Not a thin pretzel, but not draw to be “sexy.” I may not had the midriff, but its great to see great anatomy in women characters. I like the designs and this would be a X-Title I could see buying. Great characters and interesting family dynamics, mutants and heroically, but none of the other mess bogging down the current books.

Truly love these designs, that black tom should become canon. Only fault i can find is the exposed stomach on Theresa it seems sort of dangerous given her line of work and out of character given that her father was a cop and she was trained by cable. Seems like both of those guys would be against her runnning around with a big “shoot me here” target slapped on the middle of her. I know it’s comic art but still the rest is so well thought out i felt it should be said.

Edwin: The freckles feel too much like you’re falling into stereotypes.The red n’ curly hair is fine… lose the freckles and you’ll have a fantastic design.

People with red hair usually have pretty visible freckles. The two go together. If you object to such a stereotypical look, it would make more sense for her to have very dark hair and pale skin.

What actually bugs me most about these designs is the lack of present day style to any of it. All of the clothes (and Banshee’s facial hair) look mediaval / Victorian. Don’t these characters live in modern Ireland?

Glad I’m not the only one annoyed by the bare midriff. You can’t claim it’s the same outfit as Banshee’s unless he’s baring his belly button too. She’d be cold, she’d be vulnerable, and though her pose might not be overtly t&a the pale patch in an otherwise dark costume draws the eye above and below to, you guessed it, t&a. That’s the reason two-piece costumes are so common on overly sexualised superheriones. The problem is it’s so internalised these days artists like yourself don’t even realise it’s a sex thing, but if you gave Banshee or Black Tom a belly panel you’d immediately see the issue with it. Balance wouldn’t cut it as an argument on a male character – you’d be shouted down in the name of practically, danger, and consistent characterisation – and it shouldn’t cut it for a female. After all, if you suggested to Siryn she was on the team just to be looked at you’d want a new pair of eardrums pretty soon after.